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Rigging and hoisting operations can go horribly wrong if the personnel in charge of safety and inspection do not take their responsibilities seriously. The fact that such operations involve the lifting and movement of heavy loads from one place to another, make it doubly important for rigging personnel to subscribe to the highest standards of safety. Some of the worst accidents in the industry have happened, because people using rigging and hoisting , ignored certain essential safety aspects.
There are plenty of things that can go wrong and have a detrimental effect on the safety of the rigging equipment. This article lists six of them:
One factor that compromises the safety of rigging equipment is that the personnel are not really sure about the working load limit of the equipment being used in the operations. At times, this leads to the equipment being subjected to more work load than it can handle leading to quicker wear and tear; in a worst case scenario, this leads to equipment damage in the midst of an operation. So, it’s important that there is clarity on working load limit and personnel are asked not to go beyond these permissible limits.
Another factor that needs to be taken into close consideration is the quality of the rigging equipment that is being used. At times, there are certain defects in the equipment like slings, hooks etc. and either the rigging personnel are unable to identify such defects or use this equipment in spite of these defects. This is a big mistake. You must pick all equipment carefully and go through it in the minutest detail to check for defective components. Even before you buy any equipment, a careful inspection is an absolute must to zero in on any and every defect.
After every work day, the rigging supervisor must make sure that a qualified person checks up on the equipment. This equipment is subject to a lot of wear and tear and you never know which part has given out because of daily use and needs to be replaced. If equipment develops faults, this fault needs to be addressed quickly. If it isn’t, there is a good chance that a load will come crashing down and endanger the lives of all personnel.
There are plenty of reasons why some rigging operations are conducted using faulty or questionable equipment. One reason can be that people who were in charge of purchasing this equipment chose to buy it from questionable manufacturers not known for the quality of their equipment or these people were simply not competent enough to judge the suitability of the equipment before purchasing it.
At times, this is used in unsafe weather conditions like heavy rains, winds, snow or fog. In such cases, hoist equipment must be used with double the care, keeping in mind the weather conditions. All precautions must be taken because if they aren’t, there is every chance that the safety of the lifting operation will be compromised. When there is extreme weather, it’s important to either postpone the lift or exercise extreme caution during the lifting operations.
You cannot entrust the safety of your workplace to inexperienced hands; if you do, you aren’t being safety conscious. In fact, you will be making a big mistake. Make sure that only experienced personnel are in charge of ensuring the safety of the rigging equipment. These are people who can identify defects in the equipment and also have extensive knowledge about the safe use of such equipment. Only the most knowledgeable experts and well qualified individuals must be in charge of ensuring that rigging operations are conducted by adhering to the highest safety standards.
As we mentioned earlier, there are many different factors that can compromise the safety of rigging operations. So if you want to , you must keep the factors mentioned in this article and others, uppermost in your minds. By maintaining the strictest safety standards you will not only ensure seamless rigging operations, but also ensure a long shelf life for the equipment. So make sure you give heed to anything and everything that can go wrong with your rigging operations, and take adequate safety precautions.
